Is the Current War in Iraq Just or Not - Assignment Example

Is the current war in Iraq just or not? On March 20, United s of America and its ally, Britain waged a war against Iraq. This war was waged in the face of the opposition from United Nations Security Council. UN Secretary General clearly mentioned that a war without the support from the Security Council would be “non- conformity with the charter”. (Global Policy Forum). Question regarding the just nature and the legality of this war is being raised by many experts. The ‘Unjust War Theory’ summarizes Augustine’s (The bishop of Hippo) thoughts on ‘just war’: “1. War must have a just cause (including the failure of another state to act justly toward its inhabitants, thus allowing certain wars of aggression) 2. War must be motivated by the cause of justice rather than a desire to inflict harm, wreak vengeance, and gain power, etc. 3. War must be waged by a legitimate authority (i.e., a state) 4. War must be a last resort and 5. War must be conducted justly.” Based on these parameters and certain other parameters, I will attempt to analyze the current war in Iraq. What made United States of America attack Iraq? Saddam Hussein became the president of Iraq in 1979. Saddam had ordered a number of unjust interrogations and executions during his regime. 65 people accused to be associated with the al-Dawa party (The party close links with Iran.) were hanged in 1983. Someone was hanged for “fleeing the Iraqi army.” Relatives of many citizens went missing. They were found to be dead when Saddam’s documents were confiscated after his capture. More than thousand political prisoners were secretly executed and later buried by Saddam’s government (rense.com). Was this the reason why United States of America attacked Iraq? No, the reasons mentioned by George W Bush were different. The Just war theory says, “A just war exists when people try to ward off the threat of coercive domination by another people, or to overthrow an already-existing domination.” But this wasn’t the fight of Iraqi people against Saddam’s domination. This was the fight to a nation against another nation. Had the Iraqis asked for help? But, yes, they needed help. Could United States of America help them? Did United States of America establish its cause as just? I will explore these questions in the later part of the essay and restrict myself to explore the cause of the war in this part of the essay. Iraq attacked Iran in1980 and Kuwait in 1990. Iraq ended co-operation with UN Special Commission to oversee the destruction of Iraq’s Weapons of mass destruction in 1998 (BBC News- Iraq Timeline). By Iraq’s own admission, the following facts about Iraq were known. “1. That in the years immediately prior to the first Gulf War, Iraq produced at least 3.9 tons of VX, a deadly nerve gas, and acquired 805 tons of precursor ingredients for the production of more VX. 2. That Iraq had produced or imported some 4,000 tons of ingredients to produce other types of poison gas. 3. That Iraq had produced 8,500 liters of anthrax. 4. That Iraq had produced 500 bombs fitted with parachutes for the purpose of delivering poison gas or germ payloads. 5. That Iraq had produced or imported 107,500 casings for chemical weapons. 6. That Iraq had produced at least 157 aerial bombs filled with germ agents. 7. That Iraq had produced 25 missile warheads containing germ agents (anthrax, aflatoxin, and botulinum).” (WeeklyStandard.com). These findings made it clear that Saddam’s Iraq posed a threat to the rest of the world. The recently waged American war against terrorism would not allow this. (America vowed to fight against terrorism after the attack on the world trade center). Hence, United States of America attacked Iraq. Though United States of America chose to interfere in this part of the world, it spared the rest of the world with similar tensions. A number of countries around the world, including United States of America, possess nuclear weapons. India and Pakistan both possess nuclear weapons. Both the countries have alleged each other of causing infiltration in their respective territories. Because they are a threat to each other, they went to war with each other thrice. But United States of America has always tried to establish peace between these warring nations. It has never supported “potential threat” as the cause to go to war. Then how is United States of America’s motivation justified in going to war with Iraq. Though, the reason mentioned above is the reason stated by George Bush, it is a globally known fact that the incident that triggered these series of events is the attack on the world trade centre by terrorists on 11th September 2001. As per Thomas Friedman, a well known columnist with Gadsden Times, “After 9/11, America needed to hit someone in Arab-Muslim world.” And it had to do so, in order to convey a message that terrorism would not be tolerated. As clearly mentioned in the second paragraph seeking vengeance is never the cause behind a just war. “His father. His mother. Two sisters. A brother. And an uncle. All dead. That was the price of war for 15-year-old Omar when the vehicle he was riding in failed to stop at a US checkpoint five miles from Baghdad. Even the Marines were weeping in sympathy.” (guardian.co.uk). This was the headline of guardian on 6 April 2003. The tragic civilian stories of the USA occupation of Iraq are numerous. Civilian houses near air force bases of Iran were bombed. (guardian.co.uk). As US military men marched into the capital city of Baghdad, Saddam’s men, Iraqi soldiers, civilians and journalists were killed in large numbers. The number of civilian killings was frightful. The Just War Theory clearly states that “above all, don’t target citizens.” Though a number of people are of the view that the army men of United States of America and USA itself took utmost precautions to avoid civilian killings, civilian killings are in no way justified. Everything is rendered meaningless when you harm the very people you fight for. Did USA atleast succeed in establishing peace in Iraq? Is the post-Saddam Iraq healthier? According to Thomas Friedman, Saddam’s weapons of mass destruction were never the real threat. The real threat are “the growing number of angry, humiliated young Arabs and Muslims, who are produced by failed or failing Arab states.” Was United States of America successful in changing this scenario? The crime rate and corruption under the occupation of United States of America has only increased. Iraq is under reconstruction. But one gets to hear news every other day about a senior US military official taking a bribe from the civilian contracting official. “In some cases these contracts were awarded to major politically connected corporations, like Halliburton, formerly headed by then-Vice President Dick Cheney, and Bechtel.” reported wsws.org. The number of dead civilians is on the rise. The US army has failed to provide enough protection to the citizens of Iraq. According to the International Office on Migration, 2.8 million Iraqis are internally displaced persons, forced from their homes by the violence, and another 2.4 million are refugees who fled the country. Iraq’s infrastructure was destroyed during the bombardment in 2003. But minimal efforts of reconstruction have been made, most of which ended up in corruption as mentioned above. A number of facilities, like telephone lines and power transmission, were disrupted during the war. Very few of them have been restored. (wsws.org) United States of America, thus, has totally failed in containing the weapons of mass destruction, which as per Friedman are the “angry and humiliated young Arabs and Muslims.” Instead, the number of young Iraqis harboring hatred against Americans, like the 15 year old Omar mentioned above, is on the rise. As I write this essay, the Iraqis are protesting against the US occupation on its seventh anniversary. (CCTV-International). Another important parameter for a war to qualify as a “just war” is that war must be waged by a legitimate authority. The war was certainly declared by the head of United States of America. But it did so even after most of the countries in the UN security council opposed the war. It has disregarded the decision of the international authority established to maintain peace and order in the world. United States of America could learn from the conclusion of Civil disobedience which states that “The only political duty of a man is to correct any injustice he directly causes and to deny his cooperation to other injustice.” (Thoreau reader). Thus, United States of America has failed on all the parameters. The cause behind the war, as stated by United States of America, was the “potential threat” posed by Saddam’s weapons of mass destructions. In the process of eradicating them, USA has given rise to a new “potential threat” in the form of hurt, orphaned, homeless young Iraqis. USA could have rebuilt the nation and developed Iraq but it has failed to do. Therefore, USA cannot say that liberation of Iraqis was the reason it went to war. USA has only given rise to another crisis in Iraq. USA has also failed in containing the number of civilian killings during and after the war. The corruption and crime rate in Iraq have only been on the rise. Thus, the war wasn’t justly conducted by United States of America. Thus, the war waged by USA on Iraq is completely unjust and has only worsened the scenario in Iraq. References- Goldenberg, S. “Slowly, friends slip away from a city in fear”. Guardian.co.uk. 29 March 2003. 1 April 2003. < http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2003/mar/29/iraq.suzannegoldenberg> “Invasion of Iraq.” Global Policy Forum. 4 April 2010. < http://www.globalpolicy.org/iraq/political-issue s-in-iraq/international-law-aspects-of-the-iraq-war-and-occupation.html> “Iraq Timeline”. BBC News. 27 March 2010. 6 April 2010. Kagan, R and Kristol, W. “Why we went to war”. WeeklyStandard.com. 2003. 1 April 2010. < http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/003/236jmcbd.asp> McElroy, W. “Henry Thoreau and Civil Disobedience”. Thoreau Reader. 5 April 2010. < http://thoreau.eserver.org/wendy.html > Meek, J. “One boy’s war..bathed in his family’s blood”. Guardian.co.uk. 6 April 2003. 1 April 2003. Rothbard, M. “Just War”. Lewrockwell.com. 3 April 2010. “Tales of Terror under Saddam’s Regime Emerge”. Rense.com. 2003. 5 April 2010. “The real reasons behind war in Iraq”. Gadsden Times. 8 June 2003. Page 1. “Unjust War Theory”. Progressive Theology. 2003. 3 April 2010. < http://www.progressivetheology.org /essays/2003.03.19-Unjust-War-Theory.html> “US occupation of Iraq: An ongoing criminal enterprise”. Wsws.org. 2009. 5 April 2009. < http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/feb2009/pers-f18.shtml > “7th anniversary of Iraq war: Iraqis march for national unity”. CCTV international. 10 April 2010. 10 April 2010. < http://english.cctv.com/program/worldwidewatch/20100410/101300.shtml > . Read More